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The Lottery by Shirley Jackson - Coggle Diagram
The Lottery by Shirley Jackson
Characters
Tessie Hutchinson
Role: The victim / protagonist
Trait: Complacent → Protesting
Key Quote: "It isn't fair, it isn't right!"
Mr. Summers
Role: The officiant
Symbol: Represents orderly, business-like violence
Old Man Warner
Role: The traditionalist
Key Quote: "Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon."
The Villagers (collective)
Role: The conforming mob
Detail: Even children participate in the stoning.
Plot
Exposition
Peaceful village gathering on June 27th
Quote: "The morning of June 27th was clear and sunny..."
Rising Action
The black box is brought in
Heads of households draw slips
The Hutchinson family draws the marked slip
Climax
Family re-draw: Tessie gets the marked paper
Her protest: "It isn't fair, it isn't right!"
Falling Action
Villagers pick up stones
Even her son is given stones
Resolution
The stoning begins
Final line: "...and then they were upon her."
Setting
Time
Specific: June 27th, ~10 a.m.
Season: Early summer
Quote: "The morning of June 27th was clear and sunny..."
Place
Location: The town square (between post office & bank)
Type: Small, rural, isolated village (~300 people)
Detail: Ritual is completed in under two hours
Atmosphere & Mood
Initial: Cheerful, ordinary, peaceful
Quote: "...with the fresh warmth of a full-summer day."
Contrast: Idyllic setting vs. violent act
Final: Tense, brutal, horrific
Themes
Blind Tradition
Ritual continues because "there's always been a lottery"
Quote (Warner): "Pack of crazy fools... Next thing you know, they'll be wanting to go back to living in caves."
Mob Mentality
Ordinary people commit violence as a group
Detail: Tessie's friends (the Delacroix) pick up stones
Societal Hypocrisy
Civilized facade hides primitive brutality
Setting irony: Ritual between post office (civilization) and bank (order)
Individual vs. Society
Tessie's protest is instantly crushed by the collective
Key Quote: "It isn't fair, it isn't right."
Random Persecution
The victim is chosen by chance, emphasizing the absurdity of violence.
Symbols
The Black Box
Represents: The tradition itself - old, fragile, but preserved.
Symbol of: Irrational loyalty to the past, death.
Key Detail: Made from pieces of the original box (tradition passed down).
The Lottery Slips (Papers)
Represent: Blind chance, fate, the scapegoat mechanism.
Key Detail: The marked slip has a simple black spot (the mark of the victim).
The Stones
Represent: Primitive violence, collective guilt, inherited cruelty.
Key Quote: "The children had stones already..."
Symbolic Act: Even children participate (cycle of violence).
The Date (June 27th)
Symbolic Link: Echoes ancient summer solstice sacrifices for harvest.
The Village Square
Symbolic Irony: The heart of the community becomes a place of ritual murder.